Need advice on parts or sale of car.

[WigleyCanadian]

Hi there all, I have followed all you guys for quite some time but never posted. I seem to have a situation that demands it now.
I have a '91 Nsx with 168K in great condition and was talking of selling it a few months back but just couldn't bring myself to actually selling it. I just love the car and now I'm in the situation where I need the money for other investments for now. I was just about to sell it to someone here in Canada and two days before the deal I seemed to have overdone my driving and spun a couple of rod bearings. As a result I took out the engine and it looks like I will need all new Rod Bearings, One Rod and Piston, and possibly a crank. I am at a loss now because it turns out to be very hard to find those parts as well I don't know if its worth it to fix or just sell the car as is. I don't really want to spend any more on the car cause I need to get rid of it.

I would appreciate it if someone could give me a little advice on fixing it, selling it, and parts. thanks keith

 

[nsxtasy]

First, find out how much it will cost to get it fixed. (There may be a couple of options - such as repair the engine or replace it with a used engine.) Also find out how much you could sell it to a salvage yard like ERZ Motors (which, BTW, is one place which might have a used engine to sell you).

It will be difficult to sell while needing a major repair, except to someone who is going to do the work himself.

For example - just tossing out some numbers to illustrate a point, these numbers have NOTHING to do with actual value or cost of the repair - let's say the car is worth (in U.S. dollars) $20K if it didn't need a repair, and the repair is estimated at $10K, and its value to a salvager is $5K. It would then be worth it to repair and sell (for $10K proceeds), or to try finding someone who is willing to buy it for more than $10K to fix himself.

 

[WigleyCanadian]

thank you nsxtasy for replying and I appreciate your help. As it turns out I just came across a whole engine with 15k except for the block (which I don't need) for $2000. The guy's mechanics damaged the block so now he is going to buy a new turbo engine. I think this is a good deal so I bought it and am going to fix the car.

I've decided that I love the car too much to sell it and I know for sure that I can get between $32000 and $38000usd for it here in Canada. So I guess I just panicked a little early and didn't wait until I could find all the info I needed. I sounded like it was going to cost me a fortune to fix the engine, but I guess that's not the case. anyway thanks again for the response. This is a great site and a lot of help.

By the way, he is also willing to sell me the whole 5speed trans, with the axles, clutch and everything for $1000. Does that sound reasonable it does to me. I don't need that now but just in case its probably a good idea to have.

 

[steveny]

Originally posted by WigleyCanadian:


I've decided that I love the car too much to sell it and I know for sure that I can get between $32000 and $38000usd for it here in Canada. So I guess I just panicked a little early and didn't wait until I could find all the info I needed. I sounded like it was going to cost me a fortune to fix the engine, but I guess that's not the case. anyway thanks again for the response. This is a great site and a lot of help.

Wow, 168K miles and you can still get that much for it. What would a a 92 with 35k miles sell for in Canada? maybe I will advertise mine up there if I ever want to sell it.

 

[westernb4]

Originally posted by steveny:

Wow, 168K miles

....Miles or Km?

Important to know not just for value of car but for the engine damage too---makes me nervous if this is happening to an NSX with just over 100000 mi.


[This message has been edited by westernb4 (edited 03 July 2002).]

 

[WigleyCanadian]

Originally posted by steveny:

Wow, 168K miles and you can still get that much for it. What would a a 92 with 35k miles sell for in Canada? maybe I will advertise mine up there if I ever want to sell it.

Actually that is 168ooo kilometers about 102000 miles. And yes that is how much they go for. There are only 2 for sale at the moment in the Province of B.C. and one is a reclamer that has been all restored for $46000 can. or $31000usd. The other one is not really a great specimen for $49500 can. or $32500usd. with 96000 kilometers. There was just recently two others for over $54000 can. But they have sold. The market is very weird here.

They are very rare up here and thus the price seems to be stable. Mind you that seems to only be the case in the spring and summer time. In the winter you pretty much have to give it away.

I'm sorry but I only have a '91 so I don't know how much a later model would go for. The one thing I have noticed is that you rarely ever see a later model than a '91 for sale.

 

[WigleyCanadian]

Originally posted by westernb4:
Originally posted by steveny:

Wow, 168K miles

....Miles or Km?

Important to know not just for value of car but for the engine damage too---makes me nervous if this is happening to an NSX with just over 100000 mi.

.

[This message has been edited by westernb4 (edited 03 July 2002).]

again that is kilometers NOT miles. Don't be neverous about your engine over 100000 mi. It was a combination fault. Mine, My mechanics, and being on a oval track at the time. It seems that my oil pan bolts were all loose and it was leaking oil thus in the corner doing high g's @ high RPM it sucked air NOT oil. It actually didn't do much damage at all, in fact I won the competition against a 2001 viper, 96 911, and a couple of others. It was the first time (and Last) that I took the car on the track and it performed extremely well. I just should of known better to check the oil first(especially considering my profession.) But it was a spur of the moment act during one of our race weekends.

by the way that was with stock tires and rims.

[This message has been edited by WigleyCanadian (edited 03 July 2002).]

[This message has been edited by WigleyCanadian (edited 03 July 2002).]

 

[Shanker]

If I could add my 2c... I've been watching the Canadian NSX market for over a year now and they do seem to be quite tightly tied to U.S. prices. But even during the the mad rush for sports cars in the spring, IMO, a 168k km 91-93 NSX would not fetch USD$32K (48K Cdn), much less your high figure of US$38K (Cdn$57K)... there are examples on the market today with 35-50k km (20-30k mi) that have been and still are asking that much since May, prime time for selling sports cars.

For example... currently for sale in Ontario:
85k km (54k mi) asking Cdn$50K (US$33K)
96k km (60k mi) asking Cdn$48K (US$32K)
123k km (78k mi) asking Cdn$44K (US$30K)

I began recording the details on cars for-sale over a year ago when I began seriously looking (and long since concluded that an NSX is not in the budgetary cards for me anytime soon... sigh...damn Cdn dollar). Most have between 60-90k km and were asking between CDN$45-53K (US$30-34K). This includes cars not only in B.C. but in Alberta and Ontario as well. There are typically enough low-mileage NSXes in Canada that will preclude you selling your high mileage one for over Cdn$45K on that basis alone. Of course, this is just my opinion based on how I view my options as a potential buyer, knowing what is available and what has been available in recent months.

You're right that there are presently few NSXes on the B.C. market but take the broader view that in the past there have been several in BC and over a dozen in Ontario. If you find a buyer that must have an NSX this summer and won't leave the province to buy one elsewhere, then yes you may have some leverage but most people looking at dropping ~Cdn$50k on a 12-year old sports car will gladly hop a plane to save a few grand. NSXes are a niche market here and I've seen many advertised on-and-off for several months til they finally disappeared; draw your own conclusions. The really low mileage ones command the >$50k prices, and that's just a function of rarity. Once you get over maybe 80k km and certainly by over 120k km, there are a number of cars out there to choose from.

No matter what you get for it, good on you for enjoying it for that many miles!

[This message has been edited by Shanker (edited 06 July 2002).]